Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price Up 4.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s stock price shot up 4.8% during trading on Monday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $585.00 to $625.00. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ulta Beauty traded as high as $543.32 and last traded at $542.1430. 389,739 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 697,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $517.50.

ULTA has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,919.36. This trade represents a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,963,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,996 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,093 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 97.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $18,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,625 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2,704.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 79,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,077,000 after purchasing an additional 76,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,024,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $497.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $533.60.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 45.40%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.78 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.